Tecno Spark 20 Pro+ review: Style meets performance on a mid-range budget

Tecno announced the Spark 20 Pro+ at the close of last year as a more premium alternative to the Spark 20 Pro.

The phone maker is not new to the Kenyan smartphone market in the last decade and promises sheer design and performance on a mid-level budget with the Spark 20 Pro+.

Here are the key takeaways from the device:

The striking design of the Spark 20 Pro+ is what catches one’s eye at first glance; Tecno delivers big-time on aesthetics with this new phone, thanks to its 6.78-inch display and ultra-slim 7.5mm design. The handset’s double-curved design makes the screen, frame, and back merge seamlessly.

Speaking of the back, the sand-patterned plastic provides a better grip for a device of such size, although it is not heavy. Tecno manages to keep it light at just 179 grams.

Display-wise, it is a win for users who enjoy watching videos and gaming on their devices. Crisp images, vivid colour and an immersive experience are what one gets with the Spark 20 Pro+, thanks to its 1080-by-2436-pixel resolution and infinity display.

One cannot help but point out how the optical phone’s fingerprint sensor – on the main display – maintains the device’s minimalist look compared to having it on the back or along the edge.

What’s more, buyers get the luxury of choosing the colour they want for their Spark 20 Pro+ from the range Tecno has offered for the device; temporal orbit (blackish), lunar frost (whitish), radiant starstream (goldish) and magic skin 2.0 (greenish).

Tecno Spark 20 Pro+ buyers get a seamless browsing experience no matter which corner of the world they are connecting from as the device has 2G (GSM), 3G (HSDPA) and 4G (LTE) band connectivity, on top of Wi-Fi. This applies to both SIM card slots.

It is worth noting that Tecno has given the Spark 20 Pro+ the 5.3 Bluetooth version, which is the more stable and faster version of Bluetooth 5.0. and 5.2 versions. This means a better listening experience for Spark 20 Pro+ buyers when they connect to Bluetooth devices and faster file transfer.

One can tune in to their favourite radio programs whenever they are as the phone comes with an in-built FM radio which offers a wide range of local and international channels.

Because the Spark 20 Pro+ uses a USB-C connector and does not have a 3.5mm jack, users have to use Bluetooth audio devices or USB-C wired earphones.

Storage and sound:

When it comes to storage, the Tecno Spark 20 Pro+ is a laptop under a phone's skin! One need not worry about where to store their files, photos, videos and apps as the phone gives them 256GB internal storage space and 8GB RAM, with a microSD card slot if they need more storage.

The phone’s stereo speakers are one of its major strong points; the sound quality is exceptional and the volume goes high enough.

The Tecno Spark 20 Pro+ provides a smooth operating experience even with multiple heavy apps in the background, thanks to its HiOS 13.6 software built on the Android 14 OS and its Mediatek Helio G99 processor.

One gets a smooth and stable performance during tasks such as gaming, video editing and heavy usage over long hours. Even more, the phone’s 5000mAh battery gives an average of between 11 and 12 hours of active use.

Tecno is known for good cameras the higher you go in its device range and the Spark 20 Pro+ is no exception. The vividness, clarity and colour of the photos taken with this phone’s rear 108-megapixel triple camera are exceptional.

In daylight, the skyline, vegetation and skin tone translate very well in the pictures while at night, landscapes are captured well enough albeit at a lower quality.

One of the stand-out features of the Spark 20 Pro+ camera is that it is AI-enabled. This means the phone detects the subject being photographed, whether it is a person or a flower, and adjusts its configuration accordingly to get the best picture.

Another striking feature is dual-view video recording, where with this device, one can record video with the 32-megapixel front camera and rear cameras simultaneously!

The Tecno Spark 20 Pro+ retails from Ksh.30,000 in Kenya.

If you like sleek phones with a large display and a good camera and are in the market for a mid-level budget quality device that ticks the key performance elements, the Tecno Spark 20 Pro+ is worth every coin.